I was flying over Hargeisa, Somalia on a UN flight along with colleagues from work. It was for them a routine trip into Somalia, but for me it was my first time returning to the country since I left as a toddler. After flying over what seemed to be endless desert and savanna in Kenya and Somalia - not really sure when I crossed the border - I knew I was near Hargeisa when we began to descend and i saw small clusters of houses or aqals, and some property markers. Hargeisa in my mind was a big city, second only to Mogadishu, but it turns out it is much smaller than I imagined. Its also a lot cleaner and more spread out than I thought.
As soon as i stepped out of the airplane, the wind started. It nearly blew my scarf right off a few times. Hargeisa is a city that emerges from a desert, although there is some greenery, so the weather is usually very hot and dry. I happened to come during the right season because the temperature couldn't have been more pleasant. Leaving the airport, we began driving through the streets and I tried to both soak in the city, while also taking pictures every few seconds. I took pictures of the buildings, the advertisements, the goats, the colorful gates - just about everything that caught my eye. My main hope was to get pictures of people going about everyday life but the people were apparently missing from the streets. Only a few people were out and about, and I later found out this is normal because life in Hargeisa begins in the late afternoon.
As we drove, the Somali driver pointed out two small mountains that were just outside of the city, and asked me if I knew what they are called. I did not so he said with a smirk on his face, "these mountains are called naaso hablood, do you know what that means?" I laughed off his question and said "yes, i know what that means." Naaso hablood is Somali for women's breasts - I found the joke a bit crude. It reminded me of a journalist who wrote that Somalia is a country full of comedians and warriors. I found the generalization offensive but of course there is some truth to it.
My Somali hosts asked me if I'd ever eaten camel meat, and when I said no, they called over the waiter and insisted he bring camel meat. Before I could advise on the amount, he piled the meat on my plate. I was nervous but after taking the first bite, all the men watching in anticipation of my reaction, I smiled and told them its delicious. Camel meat tastes like cow meat but even better. Perhaps the way it was prepared made it more appealing than it could otherwise have been : the meat was cut in thin slices and simmered in a tasty sauce. After lunch, I felt I had a piece of Hargeisa in me and was ready to face the day.
Next we visited an NGO that work in Hargeisa, and I ran into someone who knew me from Boston, and now works at the NGO. I didn't recognize him but he was nice enough to not hold that against me. I was impressed by him and the great work his organization does - an organization that proudly told us they had Somalis from America, Canada, England and Italy working for them, and not only local staff. The return of diaspora to transfer skills and try to make a difference in the country is essential because without their return, the brain drain will be permanent.
The trip was short, not the 'homecoming' I had imagined. It was very much a visit to a foreign country, but one that I knew that I had ties to. What I saw in Hargeisa is a side of Somalia people don't hear about; a beautiful, peaceful and progressing country. Not the war and corrupt politics that people associate with Mogadishu.
As soon as i stepped out of the airplane, the wind started. It nearly blew my scarf right off a few times. Hargeisa is a city that emerges from a desert, although there is some greenery, so the weather is usually very hot and dry. I happened to come during the right season because the temperature couldn't have been more pleasant. Leaving the airport, we began driving through the streets and I tried to both soak in the city, while also taking pictures every few seconds. I took pictures of the buildings, the advertisements, the goats, the colorful gates - just about everything that caught my eye. My main hope was to get pictures of people going about everyday life but the people were apparently missing from the streets. Only a few people were out and about, and I later found out this is normal because life in Hargeisa begins in the late afternoon.
As we drove, the Somali driver pointed out two small mountains that were just outside of the city, and asked me if I knew what they are called. I did not so he said with a smirk on his face, "these mountains are called naaso hablood, do you know what that means?" I laughed off his question and said "yes, i know what that means." Naaso hablood is Somali for women's breasts - I found the joke a bit crude. It reminded me of a journalist who wrote that Somalia is a country full of comedians and warriors. I found the generalization offensive but of course there is some truth to it.
The highlight of my day was a lunch with some government officials and NGO workers. They were exceptionally nice to me, telling me Hargeisa is my home, and I'm like their daughter. In my mind, I thought Mogadishu is more of a home than Hargeisa, considering that my parents once lived there. But essentially when I hear the word home, all I can think of is Virginia, where I've lived most of my life and where my family resides. Perhaps Hargeisa and Somalia more generally represents an ancestral home.
My Somali hosts asked me if I'd ever eaten camel meat, and when I said no, they called over the waiter and insisted he bring camel meat. Before I could advise on the amount, he piled the meat on my plate. I was nervous but after taking the first bite, all the men watching in anticipation of my reaction, I smiled and told them its delicious. Camel meat tastes like cow meat but even better. Perhaps the way it was prepared made it more appealing than it could otherwise have been : the meat was cut in thin slices and simmered in a tasty sauce. After lunch, I felt I had a piece of Hargeisa in me and was ready to face the day.
Next we visited an NGO that work in Hargeisa, and I ran into someone who knew me from Boston, and now works at the NGO. I didn't recognize him but he was nice enough to not hold that against me. I was impressed by him and the great work his organization does - an organization that proudly told us they had Somalis from America, Canada, England and Italy working for them, and not only local staff. The return of diaspora to transfer skills and try to make a difference in the country is essential because without their return, the brain drain will be permanent.
The trip was short, not the 'homecoming' I had imagined. It was very much a visit to a foreign country, but one that I knew that I had ties to. What I saw in Hargeisa is a side of Somalia people don't hear about; a beautiful, peaceful and progressing country. Not the war and corrupt politics that people associate with Mogadishu.
